World of Wu-Yu

Humans

Humans

Humans are a marginal race in Wu-Yu, living on the fringes. They have not yet played a large role in history, and are conspicuously absent from the Grand Drama. Recently they have become known for their poetic talents and strange, bardic religion. A human poet describes her race:

Thin below the windowsill,

Hid behind an elder bush,

I am a poppy yet to flower

Some humans live in Imperial civilization, serving as coolie laborers or mercenaries, but their greatest concentration is in barbaric or nomadic tribes on the Empire’s fringes. Human adventurers are not uncommon, though, owing to a unique rite of passage called niam npab or sojourn. In this rite, a human on the verge of adulthood leaves home and village to wander the world. This normally only lasts a few months, but some stay on sojourn for years before returning to the home village to marry and settle down. In recent centuries there has been a growing problem of sojourners staying in the Empire, never to return. Further, the recently opened trade routes, exporting human-grown opium to the Empire, are bringing Imperial luxuries to human tribes and eroding the traditional way of life.

Humans stand around 5-6 feet tall. They have rounded ears, and skin tones from fair to deeply tanned. Some have red or blond hair, and blue or green eyes.